shooting

noun

shoot·​ing ˈshü-tiŋ 

plural shootings

1

: the act of shooting a gun

But shooting is many a man's choice, especially up at the great hunting clubs like Choctaw Bluff …

—Harriet de Rosišre

2

: an instance of gun violence directed toward a person or group of people

a drive-by shooting

mass shootings

… a clutch of outspoken student activists flipped the national script on school shootings in America.

—Dahlia Lithwick

3

: the act of photographing or filming someone or something

A large fan specially designed to create the effect of wind during shooting.

—Ira Konigsberg

That part of filmmaking that comes immediately after the shooting is completed …

—Ira Konigsberg

Examples of shooting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

About 20 minutes before the shooting, new surveillance video shows the suspect pull a gun on a man in the elevator of an apartment building about 10 blocks north. —Ali Bauman, CBS News, 13 Dec. 2025

And the horrific 2012 shooting at a Sikh Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin made many Sikh Americans feel like targets. —Brandi Hicken, Time, 12 Dec. 2025

Testimony has centered around what transpired at the Altoona McDonald's where Mangione was apprehended five days after the shooting. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 12 Dec. 2025

In a March 3 game in Houston, Arceneaux had no points (0-for-7 shooting) and two rebounds in a 65-59 victory over the Jayhawks. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 12 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing shooting

• go shooting
• hip-shooting
• shooting gallery
• shooting guard
• shooting iron
• shooting script
• shooting star
• shooting stick
• skeet shooting
• the whole shooting match
• wing shooting

Rhymes for shooting

• booting
• fluting
• fruiting
• hooting
• looting
• muting
• rooting
• scooting
• suiting
• tooting
• commuting
• computing

Medical Definition

shooting

adjective

shoot·​ing

: characterized by sudden sharp piercing sensations

shooting pains